My dad was a singer. He loved Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Dean Martin, and Big Band music, like Duke Ellington, Harry James, or Tommy Dorsey. He also listened to The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and a little Classical music. Listening to music was something he did a lot, whether it was in the car, on the stereo at home and even from LPs he bought. He would usually sing along with the recording. He also sang in church choirs, often singing solos.
At some point, he and I started to sing duets together. The first one I recall was performing for a meeting that was a room full of men. it may have been for the local Masons. I must have been about 6 years old.
My grade school had active music education and the whole class would sing for our parents a couple of times a year. I suppose that was true, all the way through my elementary years.
But the 5-piece Basement Pipes was made up of 3 members that had other interests they felt were more important than music but the drummer and I were consumed with music. I finally joined another band of much better and more dedicated players. This gave me more opportunities to learn and perform.
As you probably know, the timing of these events coincides with a very dynamic period of Rock. This form hadn’t been recognized as “serious” or much more than a novelty but all that began to change. As the Beatles’ career progressed, their music became more and more complex. This opened opportunities for many other artists whose music was more sophisticated, including the Moody Blues, King Crimson, Chicago Transit Authority, and others. Jimi Hendrix and Cream also emerged, and jazz began to include rock elements.
During 3rd grade, I learned to play a “flutophone”, which is very similar to a recorder. For 4th grade, we chose a regular band instrument and I chose the trumpet. I did well with both instruments, but we moved to Austin for my 5th grade year and my new school didn’t have a band class, though choir remained a part of school for me. Then, for 6th grade, I went to another different school and that only had beginning band so I had to start playing trumpet from the beginning again, even though I wasn’t a beginner. It was also during this period that I went to see Austin Symphony Orchestra performances.
My family moved twice before and during my 7th grade year. My choir experience was dropped somewhere along the way, but I returned to singing in choir in 8th grade and won an award for a solo I sang in a competition. However, I continued to play trumpet until after 9th grade.
I had no interest in rock music until I discovered the Beatles. For me and millions of us, the Beatles changed the world! I still feel their influence today!
By my 9th grade year, I was deeply interested in rock music and decided to start a band. There were other classmates also interested in playing in a band and we worked on developing a repertoire of popular songs. One of the members of the band was named Craig. He played the organ and was very interested in Jimmy Smith and classic jazz.
One day, Craig got invited to a jam session with different group of musicians and he invited me to come along. I was hesitant because I didn't want to barge in but Craig was insistent. We all played together and at the end of the jam session, decided to get together again the next day. That evening Craig and I went to a regular Saturday night dance. It was at that event that an announcement was made calling for local bands to enter a “battle of the bands”.
I graduated from high school in 1970 and all that great music and progressive culture was swirling around me and as you know, it was a tumultuous time for the country too! If the truth be told, like many others at that point in life, I barely made it out of high school. I was interested in girls, music, and having fun. Nothing else was very interesting to me.
Somehow, I decided to go to a Community College and be a voice major. The experience opened my eyes to a different view of music and what makes it what it is. It was helpful that my tastes were advancing too. My music education exposed me to more “abstract” styles or expansive techniques. I learned to appreciate and enjoy styles that range from opera to atonal electronic music. The advent of “Progressive Rock” blended well with my new-found musical understanding. Music that was “different” or “original” became what I sought. Stylistically, it was complex, unique music normally found in “progressive rock” or jazz.
There were things about studying music I didn’t like. I didn’t enjoy the emphasis on school structure and I began to struggle with what would be my career objective. I was lazy and had very little self-discipline, which are characteristics inconsistent with being a good musician.
After doing poorly in school for a semester and a half, I quit school to work at a retail shoe store. I continued to dabble in music and wrote some material but at best, it was half-hearted and aimless but working in retail was unfulfilling.
I worked in retail for about 5½ before leaving to play in a band. The new band played in many places in Texas and it was my primary income, though it was a pathetic amount. The band eventually broke up and I tried to form a new one but it never came together and I looked for the next musical project.
I found a “Progressive” rock band that wanted a lead vocalist and I joined them. I always felt we were on the verge of a recording contract but it never materialized. While working with the band, I took a job as an industrial salesman. After 3 years with no paying performances and no recording contract, I was out of music. Still, I had interest but no vehicle or means to develop it.
About a year later, I was asked to join a band. We built a repertoire and performed for several months before conflicts developed and “the wheels fell off”. Then about a year later, I joined another band and wrote new material. But the band didn’t last too long and the members went our separate ways. By this time, I had met a woman and about 2 years later, we married. For the next 10-12 years I was focused on being a father and husband. Music was limited to church choir and occasional listenings.
Through the years, I had begun giving blank cards with poems I had written. One day in the early 90s, I gave a card to my brother for his second marriage. The poem I had written came as a complete song and it hounded me for quite a while. A couple of weeks later, I bought a keyboard and home recorder. I had come back to music again. This decision came with the concept that I would write music for my own enjoyment. It wasn’t about making money or being popular. It was simply about making creations that pleased me. Yet, this wasn’t the end. It was only a chapter that repeated multiple times.
1960's Chevrolet Caprice
In the years I had been away from music, it had changed and I had to learn how to use new tools. I wrote a number of pieces over the next few years but eventually I realized it isn’t enough to write for myself. Songs must be exposed to an audience.
My effort has stopped and re-started multiple times. The pattern always begins with interest and exploration that leads to second-guessing and self-doubt, then abandonment of the work. It’s happened so many times and the phases have almost become predictable.
The past 30 years have been a microcosm of my musical history. I’ve vacillated between doing what I can to survive and limited musical accomplishment. I write and sometimes do one recording but then I lose faith in myself and potential and I step away.
I’ve written more and just completed a new one a few days ago. I’m planning to include it on the recording.
So I have a dream and the dream is to write and record good quality songs, then perform them to receptive audiences. But along with dreams come fears. Music is highly subjective. Material can be good or even exceptional but the audience may not appreciate its qualities. I’m sure you’ve seen this in painting.
For now, I’m focused on developing the material with the players, while I work to get my voice back in shape. If we get those things done, we’ll need to get a good quality recording and then a master tape. If all of that comes together, I’ll need to look at other things like radio play and distribution. And then there could be performance….maybe.
Time will ALWAYS tell the story…- tom